SCHEMA MARKUPFor service businesses
SELLWRIGHTStructured data tells search engines what a page is about in a format they can read without guessing. For a service business only a handful of types earn their keep, and a few popular ones no longer do anything visible in Google. This is what we add to service websites, including this one, and what we leave out.
What schema does, and what it does not
Google says it uses structured data to understand the content of a page, and that correct markup can make a page eligible for rich results. It does not promise them. Google also asks that markup only describe information visitors can see on the page, and it recommends the JSON-LD format where your setup allows. Treat schema as clarity for machines, not as a ranking trick.
Organization: who you are
Describe the business once, on every page: name, website, logo, a contact email or phone, and sameAs links to profiles that belong to you, such as your LinkedIn page. Google says Organization has no required properties and asks for the most specific subtype that fits. If customers visit you at a physical address, use a LocalBusiness subtype with that address. If you work remotely and do not publish an address, a plain Organization is the accurate choice.
Service: what you sell
Mark up each service page with a Service: its name, a description, the provider (pointing to your Organization) and the area you serve. Google has no rich result for Service, so this is purely about understanding. It ties each page to your business and to the thing a buyer is looking for, and gives every other system that reads your pages the same clear picture.
BreadcrumbList and Article: structure and authorship
BreadcrumbList describes where a page sits in your site, and Google can use it to show that position in search results. For guides and blog posts, Article or BlogPosting with a headline, publish and update dates, an image and an author with a name and a profile URL tells Google who wrote what, and when. Both are cheap to add from a template and keep paying off as the site grows.
The ones that lost their shine
- FAQPage: since August 2023 Google shows FAQ rich results only for well-known, authoritative government and health websites. The markup is still valid, so keep it where the questions are visible on the page, but don't expect the dropdowns in search.
- HowTo: Google stopped showing HowTo rich results altogether in September 2023.
- Course Info, Claim Review, Estimated Salary, Vehicle Listing and a few others were phased out of Google's rich results in 2025. Google said the change would not affect how pages are ranked.
Google has said there is no need to remove markup it no longer uses, because unused structured data does not cause problems in Search. Spend your time on the types above instead.
One to avoid: reviews of yourself
Marking up testimonials about your own business with Review or AggregateRating on your own site is what Google calls self-serving. Pages with LocalBusiness or Organization markup are not eligible for review stars that way, even when the reviews come from an embedded widget. Show real reviews on the page, link to independent review profiles and leave that markup out. We removed it from our own reviews page for exactly this reason.
How to check it
Run one page per template through Google's Rich Results Test and the Schema Markup Validator at validator.schema.org, then watch the Enhancements reports in Search Console. Checking templates rather than every page is enough, because a broken template breaks every page built from it.
Generate the markup from the same data as the visible page. Then the FAQ text, dates and prices in your schema can never drift away from what visitors actually read.
Where to start
Check that your home page carries Organization, your service pages carry Service and every page has breadcrumbs, then remove any review markup about yourself. Our SEO, speed and AI search service covers structured data with the rest of technical SEO, and how to get your website cited in AI search answers shows how clear pages help AI engines quote you.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Does schema markup improve rankings?
Not directly. Google uses structured data to understand pages and to decide which ones are eligible for rich results. When it phased out several rich results in 2025, it said the change would not affect how pages are ranked. Clear markup still helps your pages be understood correctly.
Should I remove FAQPage markup now that FAQ rich results are limited?
There is no need. Google said in 2023 that sites do not have to remove it, and unused structured data causes no problems in Search. Keep it only on pages where the same questions and answers are visible to visitors.
Which format should structured data use?
JSON-LD. Google recommends it where your setup allows, because it sits in one script block instead of being woven through your HTML. That makes it easier to generate from your content and to keep correct as pages change.
Do I need LocalBusiness schema if we work remotely?
No. LocalBusiness describes a place customers can visit, and Google's local business features expect a real address. A remote studio or consultancy is described more accurately with Organization, plus Service on each service page.
How often should structured data be checked?
After every template change, and at least once a quarter. Search Console's Enhancements reports flag new errors as Google recrawls your pages, and a Rich Results Test on one page per template catches most problems before launch.
